A revolution that will finally make passwords obsolete is gathering pace.
Passkeys, which combine strong security and ease of use, are widely tipped to signal the end of the road for passwords.
The good news is that passkeys are now available to Jersey ratepayers. This advance places Jersey’s parishes at the forefront of public sector organisations taking advantage of this game changing technology.
Further afield notable public administrations moving early to adopt this technology include Australia’s myGov digital service platform. In a November 2023 statement Australia’s Minister for Government Services, Bill Shorten, announced that: “Passkeys will be introduced to bring myGov further into the 21st century, allowing Australians the ability to use biometric options such as facial recognition to access the site.”
Until now Jersey ratepayers have needed a one-time code, sent as a either text message or automated voice call, to access confidential details online. One-time codes protect privacy but detract from the overall experience. Frustration mounts when the code takes too long to arrive or, occasionally, doesn’t arrive at all.
Terry Coutanche, of Jersey management consultancy teleologica, explained: “Behind the scenes passkey technology takes advantage of the security features we already trust to protect our mobile phone, tablet or PC from prying eyes. The device is the key.
“Compared to alternatives such as the one-time code text messages that Jersey ratepayers currently rely on passkeys are easier to use, more secure and lower cost. They were an obvious opportunity for parishes to improve the experience for ratepayers”.
